In less than a decade since it was launched, online hospitality service –Airbnb has disrupted the travel ecosystem in a significant way. Travel is no longer what it used to be. Now, it is more about connecting with people and having unique experiences.Speaking of the re-imagined travel business which Airbnb has made possible, Amanpreet Bajaj, Country Manager, Airbnb India says, “Travel today is becoming far more democratised. At Airbnb we want people to start re-imagining travel. What we found is that people are looking for memorable experiences that they would remember for the rest of their lives. A lot of time today goes into the planning of travel. In fact, it takes more time than the actual travel and we feel we need to fix this. We need to make travel both magical and as well as easy. We did a lot of research and we found that the magic is in the people. When people travel and interact with more people and immerse themselves in the local culture that is when the real magic happens.”

Bajaj also spoke Airbnb’s growing success in India. It must be mentioned that Airbnb India has over 25000 homes across 100 cities and is witnessing 200% growth YoY. “What started in 2009 in some pockets of the US started mushrooming into a large organic community where people started to travel and have great experiences. Over the years India has emerged as one of the key markets for Airbnb we have seen almost 200% YoY growth across all segments. Today we have more than 4 million homes on the network across 65000 cities and in more than 191 countries. Overall on Airbnb, we have seen 250 million guest arrivals across the world”, adds Bajaj.While Airbnb has taken the lead in redefining travel experiences, however, there is a host of other players who are competing for their share in this sunrise market. Speaking about maintaining the leadership position that Airbnb has developed over the years and the vision of the company to stay ahead of the competition Bajaj says, “Our mission is to create a world where everyone belongs to anywhere irrespective of who they are, where they come from or what they do and that mission takes our work forward across the world as well as in India.”Bajaj was speaking at the recently held Indian Marketing Awards 2017.
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